Canister loading using stacked cylinders



CANISTER LOADING USING STACKED CYLINDERS Filed Aug. 22. 1951 INVENTORY.Richard J; ZEamET' fliiarneys'.

United States Patent CANISTER LOADING USING STACKED YLINDERS Richard J.Zeamer, Wellesley Hills, Mass., assignor to the United States of Americaas represented by the Secretary of the Army Application August 22, 1951,Serial No. 243,144 4'Claims. (Cl. 102-38) (Granted under Title 35, U. S.Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may bemanufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a projectile for use in machine gunsand artillery pieces wherein each individual round comprises a canisterloaded with pellets which disperse upon collapse of the canister infiring.

Experience in warfare has shown that the ordinary single shot shell orprojectile has been inefiective at close range in repelling mass attacksby the enemy and in discouraging enemy personnel from approaching tanks.It has been found however that ammunition utilizing a metal canisterfilled with pellets such as steel balls and having no explosive charge,has been effective for these purposes since the canister, which isprojected by a propelling charge, breaks up upon leaving the muzzle ofthe gun, allowing the balls to scatter.

It is therefore an object of my invention to disclose an improvedprojectile filled with pellets, for use in firing at close range.

A further object of my invention is to disclose a projectile which willimprove a dispersal or shot pattern at a desired range for which theprojectile is intended to be more effective.

It is also an object of my invention to disclose a canister speciallyconstructed to protect the gun bore, and which will tend to hold thepellets against immediate and ineffective dispersal until they havetraveled to an efiective range.

It is also a further object of my invention to disclose a typicalstacking arrangement of pellets in the steel canister which will nothave the tendency to bunch on set back and which therefore will notprematurely cause breaking up of the canister to injure the bore of thegun barrel.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in theaccompanying drawing in which Figure 1 represents an assembled roundincluding the cartridge case.

Figure 2 represents a longitudinal section taken on line 2-2 of Figure1.

Figure 3 represents a transverse section taken on line 33 of Figure 2and showing a layer of pellets.

Figure 4 is an elevation looking to the left of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a perspective of one of the cylindrical pellets.

The complete round comprises a cartridge case 1 which includes the usualpropelling charge 2 and primer 2a, and the projectile or canister 3. Theprojectile per se includes a heavy cylindrical steel jacket or tubing 4,and an inverted base or cup 5 of heavy steel consisting of base 6 andskirt or rearwardly directed side wall portion 7. A raised bead band 8is circumferentially formed on the flange of the base and is providedwith circumferentiallyspaced helical splines 9 (see Figure 1), fittingbetween the rifling lands of the barrel to cause the projectile to spinas it travels along the bore of the gun. The cartridge case 1 is crimpedabout and makes a tight fit about the flanged portion 7 of the base. Inaxial alinement with the cartridge case and extending forwardly is thetubing 4 which also is fitted tightly about the base and welded orsoldered thereto. Bead 8 'acts as an abutment for both the cartridgecase and tubing, axially separating one from the other. p

The canister is loaded with short steelpellets or slugs 10 which arecylindrical in shape for a purpose to be later described. These pelletsare stacked in layers, the pres- ,ent embodiment showing 7 layers of 19slugs per layer.

However it is to be understood that the size of slugs, number of layers,and slugs per layer may be varied. A chipboard liner 11 is interposedbetween the outer .surfaces of the pellets onthe side and top thereofand the steel jacket in order to facilitate packing of the pellets and gto prevent them from rattling around in the canister.

The steel jacket 4 is provided with 4 equiangularly spaced longitudinalslots 15, and a cover 12 is provided to close off the container. Inorder to hold the cover fast in the canister, the outer peripheral edge13 of the canister is crimped over and is spot welded to the cover as at14.

The projectile above described is extremely effective in repelling massattacks at close range and is constructed to reduce to a minimum theinjury resulting to the bore of the weapon from which it is fired.Several factors militate to reduce wear on the bore. The heavy invertedsteel base is provided to bear the brunt of the initial set back forces.In addition the heavy steel jacket 4 will resist the centrifugal actioncaused by the spinning of the projectile and the spreading of the heavysteel slugs as the projectile traverses the barrel. Since these slugsare cylindrical rather than ball-shaped the tendency to bunch isconsiderably reduced and bulging of the side wall is cut down until theprojectile is free of the confining gun barrel. Experience and testshave shown that by using a canister having slots terminating short ofthe base of the steel jacket, I provide in efiect, a number of resilientfingers which initially hold the pellets en mass, but which eventuallyyield due to centrifugal force of the spinning mass of pellets to permitdispersal. The function of the slitted jacket, therefore is to hold thepellets against immediate and ineffective dispersal during their travelto an eifective range, to thus improve the shot or dispersal pattern atthe desired range for which the projectile is intended to be mosteifective. When the canister collapses the pellets are free to disperseand in scattering they assume a cone shape to effect considerable damageupon enemy personnel at close range.

It is apparent that my device is superior to prior art projectiles inthe provision of a heavy steel Walled canister, a heavy metal base, inthe shape and arrangement of slugs and in a new arrangement of elementsto achieve a more efiective projectile.

Other modifications and alterations of the structure which has beendisclosed herein for purposes of illustration will be apparent to oneskilled in the art, and it is obvious that the same may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In a round of ammunition adapted to be fired from a rifled barrel, aheavy rigid cup-shaped unitary base having a rearwardly directed sidewall and a flat forward face, a raised bead circumferentially formed onsaid side wall and provided with a rotating band, a cartridge casefitted about said base and secured thereto, said cartridge caseincluding a propelling charge and a primer, a heavy steel tubular membersecured about said side wall axially separated from said cartridge caseby said raised bead and extending in a direction opposite to saidcartridge case, a plurality of stacked cylindrical pellets received inend to end relation in said tubular member to form a plurality oflayers, the rearward faces of said pellets in said rearward layer beingin juxtaposition with said fiat face of said base, said tubular memberforming with said pellets a canister adapted to be propelled as aprojectile, said tubular member having a plurality of equiangulargspacedlongitudinal slots adapted to weaken said tubular member so that theforward end of said member spreads under the centrifugal influence ofsaid pellets, causing said pellets to spin away from said projectile ina conical spray pattern.

2. A rotating projectile for a round of ammunition comprising a heavymetal generally cylindrical base having first and second reducedportions axially separated by a raised beaded portion, a rearwardlydepending skirt portion, and a flat forward face, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced helical splines forming a rotating band on saidbeaded portion, a heavy metal tubular canister having a closed end andan open end and having an inner diameter equal to the diameter of saidreduced portions, said open end of said canister being secured about oneof said reduced portions, a mass of short cylindrical metal pelletsclosely stacked in said canister in end to end relation, said canisterbeing weakened by circumferentially equi-spaced longitudinal slotsextending from the closed end of said canister to a point short of thebase secured end of said canister, the arrangement of said pelletsproviding for transmission of setback forces rearwardly and axially tosaid heavy base when said projectile is fired, the closed 4 end of saidcanister adapted to spread in flight under the centrifugal influence ofthe spin sensitive pellets acting against said slotted end, said pelletsthereafter moving forwardly and radially from said canister bycentrifugal force to constitute a conical pattern.

3. The projectile according to claim 2 wherein the forward end of saidcanister is closed by a temporary cover, the said forward end of saidtubular member being crimped over and soldered to said cover.

4. The projectile according to claim 3 wherein a soft metal tube isinterposed between said tubular canister and said pellets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.3,886 Richards Mar. 22, 1870 15,369 Buckel et al. July 22, 1856 395,897Hartley et a1. Jan. 8, 1889 487,028 Ginalsky Nov. 29, 1892 553,062Follett Jan. 14, 1896 996,403 Gilmartin June 27, 1911 1,203,649 PapugaNov. 7, 1916 1,297,216 Matteus Mar. 11, 1919 1,299,013 North Apr. 1,1919 2,529,504 Kroeger et al Nov. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 130,373 GreatBritain Aug. 7, 1919

